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Blake Costanzo ranked second on the 49ers with 17 special-teams tackles in 2011. (AP)

Given the value the 49ers place on special teams and players who bleed pigskin, Blake Costanzo will be back in San Francisco in 2012, right?

Perhaps. But it doesn’t appear as if the high-energy, special-teams standout will receive a contract offer from the team before free agency begins on March 13. Costanzo’s agent, David Canter, said today he’s had a “positive dialogue” with the Niners, but there have been “no contract negotiations whatsoever.” Costanzo signed a one-year contract with a base salary of $700,000 last year.

“Blake would love a chance to go back and play for San Francisco,” Canter said. “At the same time, there’s only a few days left before free agency and so we anticipate seeing what’s out there on the market. But the 49ers have not closed that door nor have we.”

Yes, the NFL is a business. On the surface, though, it’s surprising that Costanzo re-signing with the Niners isn’t more of a slam dunk.

Costanzo, 27, ranked second on the team with 17 special-teams tackles in 2011 and led the 49ers with four in the postseason. Perhaps more than any other player, Costanzo, a thrice-waived, undrafted linebacker from non-scholarship Lafayette College, personifies the Niners’ blue-collar ethos. He also has a close relationship with special teams coordinator Brad Seely. Costanzo and Seely were together from 2009-10 in Cleveland before Costanzo followed his coach to San Francisco.

On the flip side, the 49ers emphasize special teams more than most NFL teams and devote plenty of resources to those units. It’s possible they believe Costanzo, strictly a special-teams player, won’t find much of a market in free agency and don’t want to overpay for his services.

The Niners have already signed C.J. Spillman, another special-teams ace, to a three-year, $6 million contract extension. But Spillman, who had a team-high 19 special-teams tackles, also has value as a safety. And Spillman figures to see more action on defense in 2012 with safeties Reggie Smith and Madieu Williams scheduled to become free agents.